"John King? A lazy choice," Rex rasped, the words a weary, meaningless challenge.
Junn tilted his head, a thin, patronizing smile touching his lips. "JUNN, Rex. Not John. And I have to say, your will to fight is really intoxicating to watch."
A heavy silence followed, cut only by the relentless drumming of the cold rain.
Junn: You know this rain, to the people of this world, is very radioactive, (he continued, his voice soft, conversational, yet laced with venom.)
Rex: (He huckled softly, a dry, bitter sound.) Is that so? Why is it not burning my skin and what-not?"
Junn: Because of your genes. You're resistant to its effects.
Rex's chuckle faded, a deep, knowing understanding flashing in his eyes. He and Junn shared a brief, chilling moment of camaraderie over the cosmic absurdity of his existence.
Junn: Let's go somewhere dry."
Junn snapped his fingers.
The rain stopped instantly. The sound of running water vanished, replaced by an unsettling, profound stillness. Rex found himself lying on a soft, perfectly manicured lawn. The cold, wet pain was gone, replaced by the faint scratch of a dry, blue button-up work shirt and the familiarity of old jeans and casual sneakers. He wasn't naked anymore.
He struggled up, his movements still stiff and aching, and saw the house across the lawn: a light blue, double-story suburban home with white trim. The sight hit him like a physical blow.
Rex: This place... (He breathed, his eyes wide and vacant. He recognized the brutal familiarity of the architecture, the specific curve of the driveway.)
Junn: Three years from now, an everlasting war will happen, (he stated, adjusting the cuff of his spotless white suit.)
Rex: Another one? (He scoffed.) This world always has war that changes once it's done...
Rex: Wait... An everlasting war? What does that mean?
Junn: It doesn't end. (He answered, walking toward the blue house.) And its not between the inhumans and mutants. (He glanced back at Rex, who had instinctively assumed a conflict against the infected.)
Rex: (He scoffed.) The mundane side of humans often discriminate, hate and kill anything that's not the same as them, (he said, forcing himself to walk. He joined Junn, standing on the lawn.) Even when my kind and others can live with them, a vast majority of them KILL, abuse and abandon even the ones with latent abilities.
junn: Like your father… (He finished for him.)
The front door opened.
An elderly man, his form bulky and strong even in old age, walked out. He had brown hair streaked with a bit of grey around the temples and hazel eyes. He wore black pants with slippers and a white ribbed tank top that showed off his broad chest and large traps. He was carrying a full garbage bag toward a rubbish bin on the left side of the house.
Rex stopped dead, his breath catching in his throat.
Rex: He threw me out when I was just eight years old, (he continued, his voice hollow, his eyes locked on the man who was now slamming the lid on the bin.) Never gave a reason, he just... did it. And for a long time I wondered, why. Why? Why did you throw me out like some stranger... until, ofcourse, my powers appeared."
BOOM!
An explosion, muffled by distance but immense in its power, tore through the sky kilometers away, instantly catching everyone's attention.
Rex: The hell was that? (He asked, half-whispering, half-demanding, his gaze flicking between the distant smoke and the man he hadn't seen in two decades.)
"Hey!" the elderly man yelled, his voice rough and commanding, getting Rex's attention as he started walking up to him, his eyes only on Rex, never on Junn.
Junn: This is real by the way, (he said to Rex, his eyes shining with cold amusement.)
Before Rex could react to his father walking up to him, a sudden, powerful shockwave of invisible force arrived. It didn't just rattle the windows; it disintegrated the entire neighborhood. Wood splintered, glass exploded, and the light blue house dissolved into a storm of debris. The area was instantly covered in a thick, choking cloud of dust and pulverized concrete.